Sparks Nevada Pop Warner Football League, Inc.

Standard Operating Procedures

Note: These Standard Operating Procedures were updated July 1st 2014. These S.O.P’s supersede all previous Standard Operating Procedures

Table of Contents

Standard Operating Procedures Page #

000 – Purpose 3

001 – Meetings 3

002 – Registration 3

003 – Financial Assistance 4

004 –Refund Policy 4

005 – Team Selection 4

006 – Team Names & Colors 6

007 – Coaches 6

008 – Coaches Selection 8

009 – Certification 9

010 – Equipment & uniforms 9

011 – Recruiting Of Participants 10

012 – Newsletter 10

013 – Association Memory Book 10

014 – Poker Tournament 10

015 – Pop Warner Day 10

016 – Fundraising 11

017 – Scholastic 11

018 – Team Binders 11

019 – Insurance 11

020 – Fiscal Responsibilities 12

021 – Budget 14

022 – Pictures & Plaques 14

023 – Snack House 14

024 – Golden Eagle Regional Park 14

025 – Association Penalties 14

026 – Legal Liabilities 15

027 – Discrimination 15

028 – Disciplinary Action 16

029 – Hearings & Appeals 17

030 – Team Account Rollover 17

031 – League day 17

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 000

Purpose

The purpose is to standardize the operating policies and procedures of Sparks Pop Warner. It is felt that setting standards will help alleviate controversy between association personnel, team personnel and parents.Any deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures must be revised by a majority vote of the board of directors and this document updated within 30 days of the revision.

ASSOCIATION CODE OF CONDUCT

Adults or youth affiliated with Sparks Pop Warner will not criticize, taunt or degrade the opposing team, game officials, coaches or fans by improper comment or gestures, will not incite unsportsmanlike conduct, will not use abusive language , will not strike or threaten to strike any coach ,manager , game official , board member of any association or league(regionally or nationally) or booster club ,parent ,guardian or spectator. There is no alcohol, or tobacco products allowed on or near the fields. All activities will be conducted for the youth, not the adults. All participants, parents, coaches and board members are required to fill out code of conduct form.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 001

Meeting

Board meetings are necessary to maintain appropriate oversight of the daily operations of Sparks Pop Warner.

GENERAL BOARD MEETINGeneral Board Meetings

Monthly general board meetings will be held on the second Sunday of each month at 5:00 p.m. at Round Table pizza on Baring Blvd. or at a location TBA via the league website. These public board meetings will be limited to ninety (90) minutes and will address board business only. Board business includes daily operations, fiscal management, policies and procedures, SYF, HLA, regional and national league information in addition to any concerns and/or complaints regarding association operations. The board has the ability to terminate a meeting at any time by majority vote of the board. Board members and coaches must attend 51% of board meetings to be eligible to vote at the next election. This percentage is from the time the application is approved not the beginning of the season.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING / E-BOARD MEETINGSoard of Directors Meeting /E-Board Meetings

All meetings of the Board of Directors / E-board are private and closed to the public. The decisions that are made at these meetings are to be addressed at the next monthly board meeting to the entire board as new business. All coach selections are to be discussed and made at closed meetings only.

COACHES MEETINGS

A special meeting of the coaches can be called by the cheer coordinator, football commissioner and/or Board of Directors to discuss issues related specifically to the coaching staff, football and cheerleading teams. This includes information regarding equipment, uniforms, clinics, coaching policies and procedures, schedules, practice fields, etc.

TEAM BUSINESS MANAGERS MEETING (football and cheer)

Special meetings of team business managers can be called by the treasurer and/or Board of Directors to discuss issues related specifically to the football and cheerleading teams. (Example paper work, deposits, team accounts,etc.)

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 002

Registration

Registration dates shall be selected by the board of directors. The first date shall be a non-advertised date for returning players. New players will not be turned away but the date will only be advertised to all returning players. A fee structure for registration dates will be established by the Board of Directors each year before registration begins. Registration dates shall be advertised where ever the board deems necessary. (Example: February $135 for returners, March and April one registration $165, May/ June 2 dates each month $175, July/ August two dates in July one in August $185)

The absolute cut-off date for all registrations is the third Wednesday of August. Some circumstances may allow further registrations, filling of a team, high school player returning. All registrations must be closed by the end of August, in order for the player to fulfill the required practices before playing in the first game.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 003

Financial Assistance

It is the policy of Sparks Pop Warner and that of Sagebrush Empire not to turn away any participants because of lack of funds. The philosophy is to grant financial assistance on a requested basis. A financial aid application must be submitted prior to the Board of Directors consideration of the request. Applications will be decided upon the by the Board of Directors and notice in writing issued upon decision.

A budget shall be established before the first registration to determine the number of financial assistance applications. At this time Sparks has set this number at 10 applicants worth $100 each to the budget.

A requirement for accepting any financial aid will be volunteering a minimum of 10 hours. The parent or guardian of the player who receives financial aid will be responsible for completing the 10 hours of volunteer time. This can be completed through field directing, setup or cleanup of fields or other association needs.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 004

Refund Policy

There are no refunds for registration fees however, if there is an extenuating medical circumstance or if a player is moving out of the area an exception can be made. The refund request procedure is to have the parent submit a written request explaining the medical circumstance or the fact that they are moving out of the area. The Board of Directors will review the request. Upon board approval a check will be mailed to the address on the registration form unless a different address is requested. There is always a $50.00 processing fee. Absolutely no refunds will be issued after July 31st and no refund will be issued until all equipment and uniforms have been returned.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 005

Team Selection

GOALS:

  1. Team parity through random selection(no team “stacking”)
  2. Flexibility and “customer Satisfaction” while maintaining fairness

The team member selection process outlined here makes several assumptions: 1. Coaches will be encouraged to work their way through the age/weight divisions beginning at Tiny Mite and moving up through Unlimited. This will allow a group of youth athletes to work with the same coaching staff for a prolonged period in an attempt to maximize their learning through continuity of approach over time.

2. Since teams once formed with this approach to be outlined below will create a “core group” of athletes who will remain together throughout their Pop Warner football experience. Random team assignments will be focused at the Tiny Mite level initially and subsequently with the addition of newly registered players at weight divisions above Mighty Mite. This approach is intended to allow a “core group “of players to stay together for the sake of coaching continuity, friendship development, and to enhance skill-building efforts across their entire Pop Warner Football career.

All returning players may return to their team or head coach from the previous year. No other team assignment may be given to the player regardless of a division change. Never shall a newly forming team benefit by pulling players from more than one team from the previous year if a coach changes weight divisions or team mascots.

A first assistant coach that is applying for a head coaching position will be allowed to take the players that would like to follow him. The coach must have been rostered as a first assistant coach on the previous team. Players will only be allowed to follow him to his new team that first year. The players that chose to follow the assistant coach will now be his returners.

If returning players or their parents desire a different team/coach, they will be placed in a hat pick to be drafted by someone other than their former team/coach. Returning players are on a first come first serve basis. All non returning participants will be placed in the hat pick automatically.

All football participants may be weighed to aid in the determination of their division of play. The President, 1st and 2ndVice President along with the Football Commissioner may make suggestions as to division of play based on experience, weight and age.

By June 1st, (at the earliest) the Board of Directors is to form the team selection committee consisting of a minimum of two non-coaching board members. This team selection committee will hold the hat pick June 15th at the earliest, sitting board of directors may push further into June if necessary. The hat pick is designed to ensure parity in numbers on all rosters. The hat pick will be executed in a two –step fashion in this particular:

  1. All participants placed in the hat pick that have special considerations (see below) will be assigned to a roster first.
  2. The balance of the new participants in the hat pick will be distributed to each roster to equalize the number of participants in that division for each team. This will occur by first identifying and distributing older/lighter players randomly to teams in each weight division and then subsequently the balance of the hat pick players will be distributed randomly to teams in each weight division.

After the hat pick is closed the Secretary will prepare the rosters. All preliminary rosters are to be given to the coaches by July 1st. Registrations for all divisions will continue until the third Wednesday in August or until division is full. The division is full when the maximum number of participants is on each team. National rule book has determined size of teams; however Sparks builds teams as follows:

Tiny Mites to 22

Mighty Mites thru Junior PeeWee at 25

Peewee thru Unlimited at 28

Sparks will not turn players away; we will fall back on National rules if we need to place more players on teams.

The Board of Directors will bring all new players after the hat pick to the team selection committee for proper allocation to the appropriate roster. Each time a football player, is added to a football roster, the Board of Directors is to inform the coach of the roster change. The Secretary will give a revised roster to the head coach prior to the Jamboree.

Final rosters are to be prepared by the secretary and given to the head coaches with time to ensure national guidelines are meet and approvals are received by the guidelines set forth by nationals. Upon any revisions, they are to be signed by the appropriate association personnel and forwarded to the Sagebrush Empire President this is now done through League One. Keep in mind that all documents must reach Pacific Northwest region by the first Monday in October.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS should be in the best interest of the player with regards to fairness within the league. Any unexpected deviation from the random assignment process will be done solely for the benefit of the child, keeping in mind the “It’s about the kids” mentality.

Special consideration for team selection:

  1. Personality conflicts between the player /parents and coach/staff.
  2. Logistical considerations (e.g. ride sharing, practice field locations, sibling’s team assignments, etc.)
  3. Children of coaching staff—Assignment will be made based upon the “Child following the returning coaching parent”.

In the event of an unforeseen expansion or elimination of a team, the Board of Directors will meet and assign participants to a new team using the above rules as a guideline.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 006

Team Names and colors

All team names in a division are to be decided by the Board of Directors based on equipment and uniform on hand for that particular division. The preferred team names for each division shall be Wolf Pack, Steelers, Cardinals and Saints. If additional teams are needed then the Chargers shall be used. Teams will be built in the following order: Wolf Pack, Steelers, Cardinals, Saints then Chargers. The Board of Directors may allow a coach to take his team name to the next division, if there is a need for a new team and no players will be pulled from other teams and there is enough equipment to do so. This will be on a case by case basis and will be thoroughly looked at and reviewed by the Board of Directors. No new equipment will be purchased just to take a team to a new division when there is enough equipment in a different mascot.

Primary Jersey Colors:

Wolf Pack – Navy Blue and/or Silver

Steelers – Black/Yellow

Cardinals – Scarlet Red

Saints – Black/Gold

Chargers – White

The cheer uniforms are to follow the same color scheme as the football teams.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – 007

Coaches

Coaching is an extension of the Sparks Pop Warner Board and League. Coaches represent the integrity of the program being conducted and must support program objectives and policies. Coaches must be aware of the positive and negative impact they can have on their players/members and the Association. Coaches must maintain an atmosphere, which promotes and supports the philosophy of the Association. Coaches must be responsible to young athletes, parents, officials, and other coaches by being knowledgeable of the policies and procedures pertaining to the Pop Warner program to include:

  1. Providing a safe environment during practices, games and related functions.
  2. Acquiring necessary training to coach young athletes.
  3. Being knowledgeable of the rules.
  4. Communicating with parents.
  5. Serving as a role model.
  6. Reporting any suspected child abuse or neglect.
  7. Adhering to the National Rules for Pop Warner Football and Cheer.
  8. Completing current Sagebrush Empire coach’s application, coach’s contract and volunteer application. Passing a background check.
  9. Attending or a representative attends all Association general board meetings to ensure adequate knowledge on the workings and support needs of the Association.
  10. Ensure proper behavior and sportsmanship of all team/family members during periods of competition.
  11. Attending all equipment related events in coordination with the equipment and manager, i.e. equipment shed organization, equipment safety checks, equipment handout, equipment turn-in, etc.
  12. Turning in all players and coaches’ equipment and books at the end of the season, at appropriate time and place scheduled by the equipment manager.
  13. Not have an outstanding balance charged to your team account at the end of the season.
  14. Notify football commissioner, cheer coordinator and Executive Board of any parental complaints.
  15. Attend and help at the fields for the Jamboree, Snow Bowl and Regional.
  16. Set-up and teardown fields when playing on home fields in Sparks.
  17. Picking up garbage after game when playing on home fields in Sparks.
  18. Attending Association sponsored Coaches Clinic and First Aid Class.
  19. Maintain team book ensuring all player information up to date and accurate.
  20. Completing online coach’s clinics and training.

COACHES’ REGISTRATION

Proper training must be provided for all coaches. The Board of Directors must ensure coaches’ training begins before the volunteer coaches’ work with the children and that national certification is completed within 60 days of the beginning of the season, preferably before. The Executive Board must approve any exceptions. Training will include as a minimum:

First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

Psychology of coaching youth

Injury prevention

Practice organization

Coaches’ liability

Training and conditioning.

Child and adolescent development

Diversity and sexual harassment issues

Techniques of coaching specific sport

The head coach and one assistant coach from each team (football and cheer) must attend the annual coach’s clinic sponsored by Sagebrush Empire. In addition, the head coach and one assistant coach from each team (football and cheer) must have current certification through December 31st in first aid and CPR. The head coach and team manager must attend Sparks coaches’ clinic, assistant coaches’ are encouraged to come as well.

COACHES’ ASSIGNMENT RESTRICTIONS

A coach in one division is not permitted to manage or coach in a second division during the same season.

EVALUATION OF COACHES

The Board of Directors has developed an evaluation program to identify those coaches who are able and willing to support the purposes of the football/cheer program. The Board of Directors has also established and implemented procedures to identify those whose services should not be continued because they are not fulfilling the objectives of the program. The coach selection procedure is outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures. The Board of Directors should observe each coach’s performance within the first month of volunteer service. Coaches must be able to present evidence of competency in coaching football/cheer and must be judged by the association administrators to be among the most qualified to serve as youth coaches. The results of the evaluation program for youth coaches should be used to determine the most qualified. The Executive Board will keep a file on all head coaches and staff for the year. Complaints and/or problems, good or bad will be kept on file for the following coaches’ selection, assistant coaches of the head coach will go in the same file.

REMOVAL OF COACHES

The Board of Directors is authorized to remove any coach for failure to follow the guidelines for coaches’ duties in the football/cheer program. Or, for, failure to adhere to acceptable behavior for coaches as outlined in National, Sagebrush and Sparks Pop Warner Rules.